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Billy Crawford on Little Big Shots: You’ll fall in love with these kids

You’ve probably heard about Elha Nympha singing “Chandelier” to Steve Harvey. In case you don’t know, that show is coming to ABS-CBN, but not with the Miss Universe host making us laugh and be awed by the little darlings. Instead, the Philippine version of Little Big Shots have found a host in none other than Billy Crawford.

“Sa totoo lang, when you actually hear about it, if you haven’t seen the show, it’s kinda boring,” Billy told ABS-CBN.com. He even asked, “Why would I watch it? Why would I do this?”

But when he began taping and saw what the project was really all about, that perception changed. The singer enthuses, “When you watch the first episode, you’ll fall in love with the kids.”

Having started in the industry at such a young age, Billy shared that he did not think about himself, he tells us that “it’s really the kid’s show. It’s not Little Big Shots with Billy Crawford; this is Little Big Shots.”

He continues, “I tried to forget about me, sa totoo lang. I didn’t think that I got the show because child star ako before, or I was a child actor before or anything. Wala ‘yon. It’s new to me. Sobrang bago para sa akin.”

In fact, the way the singer-host’s approach in this show is quite different from his other hosting gigs, such as It’s Showtime and Your Face Sounds Familiar. He had to establish camaraderie with his little guests, and push them to show off their talents.

Unlike other kid talent shows, Little Big Shots will merely showcase amazing talents of our beloved tykes and not have them compete for prizes. They will, however, have the chance to perform on other international editions of the show, just like Ella.

He says, “I was nervous. I was really nervous to be honest with you. I was excited pero I didn’t know if I did good, I didn’t know what my connection was with the kid, what not.”

During his first taping, Crawford was agitated. He recalls, “Hindi mo naman talaga maiiwasan ‘yong butterflies sa bituka natin ‘pag may gagawin tayong bago, ‘di ba? But it’s a good thing, it’s a really a good thing that I get nervous because I’m excited and I’m driven to do good on the show.”

Apparently, there is one more thing that made Crawford relax while taping “This kids are amazing,” he says. “Nakakalimutan lahat ng problema mo when you talk with the kids.”

“In all aspects. These kids are little angels so to have these kids on stage is a privilege,” he declares.

When you watch an episode, you will see the rapport that Crawford has with these talented young ones and how he got them to show off their talents. He mentions that he already has a simple formula for that, “I just chat with them. Just get to know them. And it really helps nga na medyo kilala ako ng mga kabataan because of “Your Face”, because of Showtime, so the familiarity is a big factor already pero getting to know the kids is the first step talaga.”

With all the shows that he has fronted, Billy reveals that it was not really in his plan to do TV hosting. The opportunity came when he signed with ABS-CBN and became a Kapamilya. Feeling at ease with his new home network, he said yes to this new venture which is hosting.

“I tried to just work on it and I was taught by a lot of other co-hosts. Marami akong natutunan sa old hosts, new hosts, and di pa rin nawawala of course ang performing or whatnot sa ASAP, so it’s just that being in this network I just get to feel the family vibe so it was a little easier for us,” he says.

Billy said he would not abandon his career as a performer, revealing his upcoming concert with Jay-R and Kris Lawrence this September 15. “We have “Soul Brothers”, we have a concert. Hindi naman mawawala ‘yon and of course, I’m still recording, I’m still writing, I’m still doing all that stuff. Hindi mawawala ang performance sa akin; I love performing so well.”

The singer/host hopes that Little Big Shots will bring joy to those who watch the show, and even inspire people. After all, it is not only Crawford who will be performing well, but of course this little stars in the making.

He remarks, “it’s motivating to see these kids. Para din siguro makita ng mga magulang how proud they are of these kids. It will bring hope back to this country, it will really unify families kasi hindi lang para sa mga bagets. This is not just for single parents, or whatever; this is for everyone.”